They had the annual Seats for Soldiers event, with military personnel all around the front row within a sweat drip of the players.

Even Lieutenant Dan himself, actor Gary Sinise, who portrayed the legless hero in the movie Forrest Gump, was on hand to pay tribute.

With all those positive vibes, the Mavericks couldn’t go wrong.

They welcomed Derek Fisher into the fold, then left it to the Detroit Pistons to simply fold. The Mavericks snapped their three-game losing streak with a terrific second-half push that earned them a 92-77 victory at American Airlines Center.

O.J. Mayo broke out of a brief shooting slump that not coincidentally lasted as long as the losing streak. He poured in 27 points, 16 of them when the Mavericks outscored the Pistons 25-11 in the third quarter.

The Mavericks turned in perhaps their best overall half of the season and certainly the best over the last couple weeks. Detroit shot just 4-of-20 in the third quarter, when the Mavericks took charge.

The Mavericks fittingly got nice production on Seats for Soldiers night from Air Force veteran Bernard James. And all the military members got an extended visit from the Mavericks postgame.

Meanwhile, Chris Kaman, Elton Brand and Shawn Marion led the rebounding push as the Mavericks got roughly a push, which for them represents huge progress.

The Mavericks witnessed the value of Fisher during the third quarter. They were trailing 53-47 and had trailed by as many as 11 points.

Mayo had started to come alive with a 3-pointer and a layup. When Fisher found himself one-on-one at the top of the key, his defender slipped, leaving Fisher open.

He could have taken the jumper, but he saw Mayo off to the side and slipped him a pass just beyond the 3-point arc, and Mayo swished the triple to make it a three-point game.

Mayo would score three more times in a 17-4 surge that gave the Mavericks a 59-54 lead.

After Carrollton Newman Smith product Jason Maxiell scored, Vince Carter hit a pair of 3-pointers and Elton Brand made a nice move for a bucket, and the Mavericks had a 67-59 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks had a terrible start on the boards but had recovered by the end of three quarters to draw ahead in the rebounding department.

It was an offensive carom that set up Carter’s first 3-pointer, which yanked some life out of the Pistons.

Coming into the game, the Mavericks were dead last in the NBA in rebounding percentage, gathering only 46 percent of all available missed shots.

Coach Rick Carlisle was practically blue in the face after having hammered home the fact that rebounding had to get better for the Mavericks to have a chance to end their losing streak.

“We got to do it collectively,” he said at the morning shootaround. “I don’t have another answer. There are going to be individual challenges every night. Detroit’s a very good rebounding team. [Jason] Maxiell and [Greg] Monroe really go after the ball. Our starting bigs have to be dialed into that and very conscientious about blocking out.”

Brand, the backup big man, came out with force and made sure the rebounding game was not a lost cause. He had a double-double by early in the fourth quarter, and when Carter knocked down another 3-pointer with 8:12 to go, the Mavericks were up 80-61 and could breathe easy knowing that their losing streak was over.

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